OWIA/NSWIS ski cross athletes Anton Grimus and Sami Kennedy-Sim have clinched top-10 finishes in the second World Cup event in Arosa, Switzerland.
Grimus improved his 17th placing from 24 hours earlier on day one of the fifth round of World Cup season by qualifying in fourth fastest time, winning his first knock out final and quarter final , before finishing in third place in the semi-finals and the consolation final.
Grimus was unlucky to miss a spot in the final after he was edged out in a photo finish that took a considerable amount of time to separate second and third places.
Unfortunately for the Australian, Frenchman Jean Frederic Chapius, an Olympic and World Championships gold medallist, advanced to the final ahead of Grimus after judges examined the photo finish.
The strong performance saw Grimus finish in seventh overall, his best result since the World Championships in Norway two years ago, while his OWIA/NSWIS teammate, Kennedy-Sim, was 10th.
The women’s event was won by Swiss skier Fanny Smith, with Swede Anna Holmlund second and Russian Sofia Smirnova in third.
Sweden’s Victor Oehling Norberg won the men’s ahead of Russian Sergey Ridzik and German Daniel Bohnacker in second and third.
“All in all I was pretty happy with the result,” Grimus said. “It’s good to see that things are moving in the right direction.”
Kennedy-Sim said she was aiming to better her eighth place from day one, however, “I’ll take a top 10 whenever I can get one.”
“This is both disappointing and motivating. I’m now looking forward to Are (Sweden) and putting it down on a different track,” Kennedy-Sim said.
The Arosa event was the second of six races in three weeks. The squad now journeys to Sweden for next weekend’s event.
Coach Shawn Fleming described the squad’s performances as a “great weekend – three top 10 finishes from two athletes”.
“It is a step in the right direction, for sure,” Fleming said.
“We talked last night about changing the tactics and it really worked in Anton’s favour.
“The tactic would have worked in the small final as well but the two Canadians who qualified first and second ended up in the same final and they worked together as a team which was an advantage.
“Anton was very happy to get through and have a full day of skiing.”
IMAGE: Anton Grimus racing in Arosa
Grimus improved his 17th placing from 24 hours earlier on day one of the fifth round of World Cup season by qualifying in fourth fastest time, winning his first knock out final and quarter final , before finishing in third place in the semi-finals and the consolation final.
Grimus was unlucky to miss a spot in the final after he was edged out in a photo finish that took a considerable amount of time to separate second and third places.
Unfortunately for the Australian, Frenchman Jean Frederic Chapius, an Olympic and World Championships gold medallist, advanced to the final ahead of Grimus after judges examined the photo finish.
The strong performance saw Grimus finish in seventh overall, his best result since the World Championships in Norway two years ago, while his OWIA/NSWIS teammate, Kennedy-Sim, was 10th.
The women’s event was won by Swiss skier Fanny Smith, with Swede Anna Holmlund second and Russian Sofia Smirnova in third.
Sweden’s Victor Oehling Norberg won the men’s ahead of Russian Sergey Ridzik and German Daniel Bohnacker in second and third.
“All in all I was pretty happy with the result,” Grimus said. “It’s good to see that things are moving in the right direction.”
Kennedy-Sim said she was aiming to better her eighth place from day one, however, “I’ll take a top 10 whenever I can get one.”
“This is both disappointing and motivating. I’m now looking forward to Are (Sweden) and putting it down on a different track,” Kennedy-Sim said.
The Arosa event was the second of six races in three weeks. The squad now journeys to Sweden for next weekend’s event.
Coach Shawn Fleming described the squad’s performances as a “great weekend – three top 10 finishes from two athletes”.
“It is a step in the right direction, for sure,” Fleming said.
“We talked last night about changing the tactics and it really worked in Anton’s favour.
“The tactic would have worked in the small final as well but the two Canadians who qualified first and second ended up in the same final and they worked together as a team which was an advantage.
“Anton was very happy to get through and have a full day of skiing.”
IMAGE: Anton Grimus racing in Arosa
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